Is Fred a picture? of a person? Did the mechanical failure affect Fred? Did it affect Laura directly? (Other than saving her life, e.g. did it hit her? Or stop her getting somewhere?) Are the murderer's motives particularly relevant? Or just the usual LTPF ex-husband out for revenge/serial killer/hitman? Are the murderer's methods relevant? Did the mechanical failure mean he wasn't able to carry out the murder?

Is Fred a picture? of a person? NO to bothDid the mechanical failure affect Fred? NODid it affect Laura directly? NO(Other than saving her life, e.g. did it hit her? Or stop her getting somewhere?) Are the murderer's motives particularly relevant? YESishOr just the usual LTPF ex-husband out for revenge/serial killer/hitman? NOAre the murderer's methods relevant? NODid the mechanical failure mean he wasn't able to carry out the murder? NO, not directly

Did the hurricane hurt her assailant? Is it relevant what came first: Fred or mechanical failure? If yes, then what came first? Was Laura's job connected to hurricanes? Was she a meteorologist? Did she get close to hurricanes?

Did the hurricane hurt her assailant? NOIs it relevant what came first: Fred or mechanical failure? Fred was "active" when the mechanical failure happened If yes, then what came first? Was Laura's job connected to hurricanes? NO Was she a meteorologist? NO Did she get close to hurricanes? Noish

How many more people: 1? 2? 3? ... Male? Female? Adults? Children? Was Fred blowing in proximity of Laura? the assailant? the other people? of the place of the mechanical failure? Was the mechanical failure related to Lauras work?

How many more people: 1? 2? 3? ... 1 more personMale? YES Female? Adults?YES Children? Was Fred blowing in proximity of Laura? the assailant? the other people? of the place of the mechanical failure? Fred wasn't blowing close enough to cause any damage to any of the people/things in this storyWas the mechanical failure related to Lauras work?^NO

So the three persons heard of Fred only in the news? if yes is the media relevant: TV? radio? newspaper? other? Is the relation between Laura and John relevant? family? friends? colleagues? strangers? Is the relation between Larry and John relevant? family? friends? colleagues? strangers? Are the occupations of Larry or John relevant?

So "1 more person" was her assailant? I misunderstood, sorry. NO, see recap below

So the three persons heard of Fred only in the news? NOish if yes is the media relevant: TV? radio? newspaper? other? NOIs the relation between Laura and John relevant? NO family? NO friends? NO colleagues?NO strangers? YESIs the relation between Larry and John relevant? YES family?NO friends?YESish colleagues?YES strangers?NOAre the occupations of Larry or John relevant? YES

RECAPLaura was going to be killed by Larry. John is another person involved in this story. John and Larry are colleagues and their occupations are relevant. Hurricane Fred was blowing not close enough to cause any harm to the three people of this story, but it was thanks to Fred and a mechanical failure that Laura survived.

There may be some variations on this, but I think I have the basic idea.

Fred was going to take Laura to the airport to catch a plane, but his car had a mechanical failure, which caused her to miss her flight. The plane then crashed and "thanks to Fred and a mechanical failure" she is still alive because she missed that flight and took another (which obviously DIDN'T crash).

A variation on this might be that the plane she was SUPPOSED to get on had a mechanical failure and so it had to be worked on. A guy named Fred offers to let her take HIS seat on another plane that is leaving right then and he takes her spot, waiting for the plane to get fixed.

Between the car problems and the plane problems I think/hope I have the gist of this. Good one!

Was John aware that Larry was going to kill Laura? YESWas Laura aware of Fred? YES Was Larry? YES John? YES

Fred was going to take Laura to the airport to catch a plane, but his car had a mechanical failure, which caused her to miss her flight. The plane then crashed and "thanks to Fred and a mechanical failure" she is still alive because she missed that flight and took another (which obviously DIDN'T crash). Sorry, it's completely wrong...

A variation on this might be that the plane she was SUPPOSED to get on had a mechanical failure and so it had to be worked on. A guy named Fred offers to let her take HIS seat on another plane that is leaving right then and he takes her spot, waiting for the plane to get fixed. Wrong, too

After re-reading the "clarification" above I see that the hurricane has something to do with it, but was it because she missed the flight that crashed? (thanks to the mechanical failure) FA

DOH! Someone wipe "newbie" off my forehead! I was in a hurry to answer and see just how little it would even WORK with your puzzle. Sorry. Also, what does "FA" mean, at the end, there (or do I want to know?" :-)

Did Larry and John kidnap for money? Did Larry and John try to kidnap Laura? did they succeed? did Larry want to kill her because they didn't get any money? Or did they try to kidnap someone else and Laura interfered?

Did Larry and John kidnap for money? YESDid Larry and John try to kidnap Laura? YES did they succeed? YES!did Larry want to kill her because they didn't get any money? FAOr did they try to kidnap someone else and Laura interfered? NO

Did Larry and John press money? did they get it? if so, did Larry want to kill Laura after they got the money? Was Laura imprisoned? relevant? Did the mechanical failure happen in proximity of Laura? Larry? John? Was there a conflict between Larry and John?

Did Larry and John press money? YES did they get it? NOif so, did Larry want to kill Laura after they got the money? NOWas Laura imprisoned? NO, but she was a hostage relevant? Not reallyDid the mechanical failure happen in proximity of Laura? YES Larry? YES John? NOWas there a conflict between Larry and John? NO

So Larry and John did not get any money, correct? Was John aware that Larry wanted to kill Laura? Was Larry forced to kill Laura to avoid beeing catched? Was Larry guarding Laura? Is the place where Laura was kept relevant?

So Larry and John did not get any money, correct? CorrectWas John aware that Larry wanted to kill Laura? YESWas Larry forced to kill Laura to avoid beeing catched? NOWas Larry guarding Laura? YESIs the place where Laura was kept relevant? YES

Was Laura kept outside? in a building? if yes in a residence building? public? commerce? Did Larry want to kill Laura after realising that they did not get the money? Was the mechanical failure in an object used for the kidnapping? When the failure happened was Larry with Laura? was John absent? Laura was kidnapped against her will, right?

Was Laura kept outside? YES in a building? NO if yes in a residence building? public? commerce? Did Larry want to kill Laura after realising that they did not get the money? YESishWas the mechanical failure in an object YES used for the kidnapping?NOishWhen the failure happened was Larry with Laura? YES! was John absent?YES!Laura was kidnapped against her will, right? YES

Was Laura kept: far from civilisation? on an island? in a forest? in the mountains? in a cave? Is the pressed person relevant? is it John? Was the object which failed mechanically made of: metal? wood? paper? glass? stone? concrete? tissue? organic material? plastic? Did it belong to Laura? Larry? John? Is the place where John was relevant? Did Larry and John carefully chose Laura as a hostage? or was it rather by hazard? relevant?

Was Laura kept: far from civilisation? YES on an island? NO in a forest? Could be in the mountains? NO in a cave? NOIs the pressed person relevant? NO is it John? NOWas the object which failed mechanically made of: metal? YES wood? paper? glass?YES stone? concrete? tissue? organic material? plastic? No to the restDid it belong to Laura? NO Larry?YES John? NOIs the place where John was relevant? NODid Larry and John carefully chose Laura as a hostage? NO or was it rather by hazard? relevant? Irrelevant

Did Laura manage to escape? Was the object which failed mechanically used to keep Laura? Has this object windows? Is it longer than 1 cm? 10 cm? 1 m? 10 m? 100 m? Is it heavier than 10 g? 100 g? 1 kg? 10 kg? 100 kg? 1000 kg? Is the country where this happened relevant?

Did Laura manage to escape? NOWas the object which failed mechanically used to keep Laura? NOHas this object windows? NOIs it longer than 1 cm? 10 cm? 1 m? 10 m? 100 m? about 10 cm I guessIs it heavier than 10 g? 100 g? 1 kg? 10 kg? 100 kg? 1000 kg? less than 250g, more than 10gIs the country where this happened relevant? NO, but it couldn't be just "anywhere".

Did someone free Laura? or was Larry unable to keep her any longer? The object: something optical? glasses? binoculars? a magnifying glass? would you find this object in a usual household? Did the object break? the glass of it?

Did someone free Laura?YES or was Larry unable to keep her any longer?NOThe object: something optical? glasses? binoculars? a magnifying glass? NO to all, but ORTwould you find this object in a usual household? You would find at any home, but it's not part of the house such as a decorative itemDid the object break? If you mean "break" like a glass breaking into pieces, then NO the glass of it? NO

Is the approximate prize of this object: 1€? 10€? 100€? 1000€? Is it made of steel? aluminium? a different metal? Is it made of normal glass? expensive glass? Would you find it typically in a kitchen? a living room? a bedroom? a garage? Is it related to work? science? health? food? entertainment? arts? religion? sports? everyday life? Was there a direct link between the hurricane and the object? did the hurricane break the object?

Is the approximate prize of this object: 1€? 10€? 100€? 1000€? Well, it can vary from 5 to more than 1000 euros Is it made of steel? I think most of them yes aluminium? a different metal? Is it made of normal glass? YES expensive glass? Would you find it typically in a kitchen? Hint: there are two types of this object: one is bigger and you can find in most houses; the other one is smaller and basically everyone uses in everyday life a living room? a bedroom? a garage? Is it related to work? science? health? food? entertainment? arts? religion? sports? everyday life? This oneWas there a direct link between the hurricane and the object? NO did the hurricane break the object? NO

any particular reason why he couldn't kill before or after?Lets see... the hurricane had a warning, and the murderer had to get somewhere safe before the storm, nor after, because of the rescue team or something?

any particular reason why he couldn't kill before or after? YES Lets see... the hurricane had a warning, and the murderer had to get somewhere safe before the storm, nor after, because of the rescue team or something? NO, but good idea

Um... Trains relevant? Not trainsExactly who is Laura? A conductor,You could say that a brakeengineer?NO an engineer?NO something else? Hint: change the way of transport and the word "conductor" and you'll discover her job

RECAP Laura was an airplane pilot. She was kidnapped by Larry and John and kept in a remote place. One day, Laura stayed alone with Larry. At 10 p.m., he would kill her. However, his watch stopped working. Thanks to this and hurricane Fred, Laura escaped her terrible fate. An airplane was nearby.

Relevant issues: How Larry would know when it would be 10 p.m. Hurricane Fred's "role" in Laura's survival What about John? What is he doing while Larry is with Laura?

Did Larry use his watch to know when it would be 10 pm? Did the watch indicate the wrong time because it was broken? Did the watch just stop running? Is the way it broke relevant? Had the hurricane an impact on the plane? Could it not take off or land because of the hurricane? Was Laura flying the plane before beeing kidnapped? Is hi-jacking of an aircraft relevant? Were Laura and Larry near an airport? was John? relevant? Was anyone of them in a plane?

Did Larry use his watch to know when it would be 10 pm? NO Did the watch indicate the wrong time because it was broken? YES Did the watch just stop running? YES Is the way it broke relevant? NOHad the hurricane an impact on the plane? NO Could it not take off or land because of the hurricane? NO, it could Was Laura flying the plane before beeing kidnapped? Irrelevant Is hi-jacking of an aircraft relevant? NOWere Laura and Larry near an airport? Yesish was John? Irrelevant relevant? Was anyone of them in a plane? NO

Did anyone look at the watch, Larry? Laura? John? someone else? If yes did this one notice that the watch was broken? or was he or she tricked about the acual time? Did Larry use another object to know when it would be 10 pm? Did he ask someone for the time? If yes Laura? John? Was the precision of his method supposed to be about: 10 min? 1 min? 10 s? 1 s? What is relevant about the plane: the type? did it fly? had it been flying? anyone in the plane? anything in the plane? Could Larry see the plane? could Laura? Has more to be found out about their place?

Did anyone look at the watch, Larry? YES Laura? NO John? NO someone else? NOIf yes did this one notice that the watch was broken? YES or was he or she tricked about the acual time? Yes, when he realized it had broken, he couldn't tell for sure the exact timeDid Larry use another object to know when it would be 10 pm? Not an object Did he ask someone for the time? NO, but... If yes Laura? John? Was the precision of his method supposed to be about: 10 min? YES 1 min? 10 s? 1 s? What is relevant about the plane: the type? It was a big one did it fly? YES had it been flying? Irrelevant anyone in the plane? Irrelevant anything in the plane? IrrelevantCould Larry see the plane? NO, but...could Laura? NO, but... Has more to be found out about their place? No

Did Larry refer to the sunset to know the time? or to the stars? Could Larry or Laura hear the plane? Was John aware that Larry would kill Laura at 10 pm? Did he do anything that he was supposed to do after Lauras death?

Could John see the plane? NO Was the object he used instead also broken? FA By the hurricane? Did Larry refer to the sunset to know the time? NO or to the stars? NOCould Larry or Laura hear the plane? NOWas John aware that Larry would kill Laura at 10 pm? YESDid he do anything that he was supposed to do after Lauras death? NO

Did Larrys method to know the time envolve: technology? astronomy? nature? another person? or did he just estimate the time? So John did something relevant, was it before? at? after? 10 pm? Was it something illegal? Had it something to do with the money they wanted to press? Is the distance between Larry/Laura and the plane relevant? More than 1 m? 10 m? 100 m? 1 km? 10 km? Was the hurricane blowing before? at? after? 10 pm?

So he used the moon? NODid Larrys method to know the time envolve: technology? Yesish astronomy? NO nature? NO another person? Yesish or did he just estimate the time? NOSo John did something relevant, Yesish was it before? Yes at? Yes after? 10 pm? Was it something illegal? Yes Had it something to do with the money they wanted to press? YESIs the distance between Larry/Laura and the plane relevant? Yesish More than 1 m? 10 m? 100 m? 1 km? 10 km? about 5 kmWas the hurricane blowing before? at? after? 10 pm? Yes to all

Was Johns job to tell Larry when? Yes To find an airplane? ;) NODid Larry call the speaking clock to find out the time?NO, they were in a remote area without telephonesWas it planned that John would get the money at about 10 pm? YES!!!! Was there a handing over? NOHas there more to be found out about the place of Larry and Laura? NO

RECAP: Laura was an airplane pilot. She was kidnapped by Larry and John and kept in a remote place. After some days in captivity, Laura stayed alone with Larry, while John left to get the ransom. The money would be picked up at 10 p.m. While John was out, Larry's watch stopped working and he realized that he wouldn't know when it would be 10 p.m. However, after some time a solution for this problem was found. Thanks to this and hurricane Fred, Laura escaped her terrible fate.

Consider: 1)They were near an airport where there was an airplane. 2) Laura was a pilot. 3) Hurricane Fred.

Relevant issues: How Larry would know when it would be 10 p.m. Hurricane Fred's "role" in Laura's survival

How Larry would know when it would be 10 p.m.: Was the plane involved in this? John? Laura? Would the puzzle work if Laura was not a pilot? If not: Would Larry and John have chosen another victim? Would she have been killed? Was John aware that the watch was broken? Has there more to be found out about John and the ransom? Was the plane flying during the time frame of the story? at 10 pm? Was the impact of the hurricane primarily on Laura? Larry? John?

How Larry would know when it would be 10 p.m.: Was the plane involved in this? YES John? NO Laura? YESishWould the puzzle work if Laura was not a pilot? NO If not: Would Larry and John have chosen another victim? NO, because they didn't know this situation would take place Would she have been killed? Probably yesWas John aware that the watch was broken? NO Has there more to be found out about John and the ransom? NOWas the plane flying during the time frame of the story? NO at 10 pm? YES!!!Was the impact of the hurricane primarily on Laura? NO Larry? NO John? NO

Did Fred never know when to go there, so therefore they couldn't pick up the money? Fred is a hurricane

So the time frame of the puzzle doesn't include 10 pm? Did the puzzle happen before 10 pm? after? Or to put it in another way, did Larry think it was later than it actually was? earlier? So the plane was supposed to indicate Larry the time in a way? Was it the take off? landing? when the plane passed by? its sonic boom? Was the indication the plane gave visible? audible? tangible? Did Laura 'help' Larry? Did she knew the time schedule of the plane? Did she lie to Larry? Did anything go wrong with this plane method? Was the schedule changed in any way? If yes, was it due to the hurricane?

So the time frame of the puzzle doesn't include 10 pm? Yes, it does include Did the puzzle happen before 10 pm? YES after? A short time after 10 p.m. Or to put it in another way, did Larry think it was later than it actually was? NO earlier? YESSo the plane was supposed to indicate Larry the time in a way? YES!!!Was it the take off? YES!!!landing? NO when the plane passed by? YES!!! its sonic boom? IrrWas the indication the plane gave visible? FA audible? tangible? Did Laura 'help' Larry? YES Did she knew the time schedule of the plane? YES Did she lie to Larry? YES, but may lead to FADid anything go wrong with this plane method? YES Was the schedule changed in any way? NO, not the schedule, but ORT If yes, was it due to the hurricane? YES, the thing/situation that was changed was due to the hurricane!!!

Did Larry and Laura see something that was triggered by (the liftoff of) the plane? If yes, was it an object? something in the air? Was the heading (or the itinerary?) of the plane changed due to the hurricane? Were Larry and Laura aware that there was a hurricane? Did Laura give Larry information about: the take-off time? the itinerary? the type of the plane? more? Was Laura's information wrong due to the hurricane?

Did Larry and Laura see something that was triggered by (the liftoff of) the plane? NO If yes, was it an object? something in the air? Was the heading (or the itinerary?) of the plane changed due to the hurricane? YES!!!Were Larry and Laura aware that there was a hurricane? YESDid Laura give Larry information about: the take-off time? YES the itinerary? YES the type of the plane? YES more? Irr Was Laura's information wrong due to the hurricane? YES!!!

Congratulations! Now you have all the info necessary to solve this puzzle!

Laura was a pilot of a cargo air company. Every single day, at 10 p.m., an airplane of that company took off from that small town. It was the only airplane that took off at night. One day, she was kidnapped by Larry and John. She was kept in a remote place about 5 km (3 mi) from the airport, exactly under the track of the airplanes when they took off from that airport. The airplanes almost always took off towards that place because the winds only blew from one direction in that region. After some days in captivity, she heard her kidnappers discussing how they would get the money. She heard John telling Larry that he would pick the money at 9:45 p.m., and that he would be back at 10 p.m. to release her. In case he wasn't back at 10 p.m., Larry should kill her and run away. Some time after John departed, Larry glanced at his watch and realized it had broken (stopped). He cursed and was desperate because he didn't know what to do, since he wouldn't know when it would be 10 p.m. Laura had an idea to save her life. She knew that the winds had shifted that day. Because of the hurricane, they were blowing from the opposite direction from the one they used to blow. And they were strong enough to make the airplane take-off in the opposite direction, but not enough to prevent it from taking-off. She then told him about the airplane which took off every night at 10 p.m., and passed exactly over that place. Since it was a cargo plane, there were usually no delays. She never mentioned, of course, that it wouldn't be passing over them that night because it would depart in the opposite direction. Being from that small town, Larry knew that all the things she was telling him was true, and trusted her. When it was 10 p.m., no airplane overflew them and Larry thought it wasn't 10 p.m. Which he didn't know was that the police had already arrested John and had made him tell where Laura was being held captive. The police then rushed towards Larry and Laura. At 10:15, the police arrived, Larry was arrested and Laura was freed.